English and Spanish clubs have played once, German clubs twice, Dutch thrice and the Ukrainians six times. It makes for a tough job to correlate those results, as a byproduct, some surprise names make the grade.

Teams such as Athletic Bilbao, Valencia, Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool were unlucky enough to miss out, as competition for a berth in the first week's copy is fierce.

There is only one Serie A team in the rankings since the season starts this weekend.

20. Porto

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FC Porto started their title defence with a win over minnows Vitoria Setubal, but they had to rely on some rather ridiculous antics from the opposing goalkeeper.

After Porto drew level via the penalty spot, Vitoria's shot-stopper Pawel Kieszek headbutted goalscorer Josue in the aftermath and then pretended he was the victim, throwing himself to the floor in dramatic fashion.

The referee wasn't fooled. He red-carded the 'keeper, and Porto scored two more to claim the victory.

19. Sporting

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Crisis? What crisis?

Sporting have had to sell off the bulk of their best assets—including Ricky van Wolfswinkel to Norwich City—but you wouldn't know it, as the Portuguese giants got off the mark with a 5-1 victory over FC Arouca.

Fredy Montero bagged a hat-trick to make fans forget all about "The Wolf," and Colombia will hope he continues to perform in the build-up to the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

16. Marseille

Elie Baup's side have strengthened intelligently this time around, and it shows on the pitch. They're hitting their potential immediately and looked convincing in their two opening matches.

Obvious weaknesses have been dealt with. Crucially, the side look capable of scoring more prolifically this year. With Dimitri Payet, Andre-Pierre Gignac and Mathieu Valbuena on board, they can match up to some of the best.

15. Real Sociedad

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Real Sociedad know they have a big season ahead, and winning on the first matchday was absolutely vital.

They did so, looking very assured in their 2-0 win over Getafe despite resting key men Xabi Prieto and Antoine Griezmann. Carlos Vela was his usual imperious self, but Haris Seferovic is being given a real go up top.

Depth could be an issue later in the season, but for now they look happy and settled.

14. Galatasaray

Galatasaray reminded the neutrals how strong they are at the Emirates Cup, with Didier Drogba putting on a masterclass to win the mini-tournament for Fatih Terim's side.

They've carried that form into the opening day, beating Gaziantepspor by two goals to one. Wesley Sneijder is off the mark already, and star man Burak Yilmaz netted too.

Over the summer, they secured the permanent signing of Felipe Melo to improve their defensive midfield quota. If last season is anything to go by, they'll be expected to push the latter stages of the UEFA Champions League yet again in 2014.

11. Monaco

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It would have been typical of midsummer hype for Monaco to walk into their opening two fixtures and fall flat on their faces.

But the French principality have recorded two wins from two, with Emmanuel Riviere hitting a stupendous hat-trick in their second game at home to Montpellier to prove Radamel Falcao isn't the only big cat in town.

It'll be a tough ask for Les Rouge et Blancs to continue this form given the attention they're drawing, but for now they're one of the form sides in Europe.

10. Atletico Madrid

Atletico Madrid have started the season extremely well, but Diego Simeone's comments paint the bigger picture.

Per Sky Sports, the Argentine tactician has branded La Liga "boring" and admits it's a two-horse race until the television deal for financial distribution is revised.

His team, and specifically Diego Costa, did extremely well to secure a 3-1 away win at Sevilla. While the fans are delighted with the football and team on show, it's going to take a bit more to convince their manager they're ready to push for the big time just yet.

8. Real Madrid

It's tough to gauge Real Madrid's strength at this stage. The game they played against Real Betis could have been won 6-1 just as easily as it could have been lost 4-1.

In the end the hosts claimed a 2-1 victory, with new boy Isco playing the role of saviour for Los Blancos. He assisted the first goal, moved the ball quickly to instigate attacks and scored a late winner.

Carlo Ancelotti has a lot to do, but he'll be pleased with what he saw.

2. Bayern Munich

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Bayern Munich have eased their way into the Pep Guardiola regime, winning both Bundesliga games but not by the landslide scores their fans have come to expect.

The 4-1-4-1 formation employed by Pep leaves them a little susceptible to counterattacks—proven by Borussia Monchengladbach in a fiercely contested opening encounter—but they're getting the job done as they adapt to a new style.

The squad depth is just absurd, and Die Bayern's wealth of options will ensure everyone remains fresh as a daisy throughout the season.

1. Barcelona

Barcelona came tearing out of the blocks, faith renewed in a tiki-taka system restored by Gerardo "Tata" Martino, and set the tone early on with an Alexis Sanchez goal inside three minutes.

Pedro, Cesc Fabregas and Lionel Messi were running riot, and at the halftime interval the hosts were up 6-0. The Granotes changed things at the break and stemmed the flow of goals, but they still ended up on the wrong side of an eventual 7-0 scoreline.